


Snowed In

by kethni



Category: Veep (TV)
Genre: Arguing, Established Relationship, F/M, Trapped
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-18
Updated: 2020-10-18
Packaged: 2021-03-08 22:40:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,727
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27084268
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kethni/pseuds/kethni
Summary: (secret stablished relationship or fwb) camp david episode. Basically they had a huge fight a couple of days ago, aren’t on speaking terms and find themselves alone in a cabin during a snowstorm without being able to get out. Will they make up? Who knows :)
Relationships: Kent Davison/Selina Meyer
Comments: 6
Kudos: 12





	Snowed In

**Author's Note:**

> For Anonymous

Fucking ridiculous was what it was. This was the problem with screwing people you worked with. _Some people_ couldn’t draw a damn distinction between work and personal shit. It was fucking ridiculous. Wait, she’d already said that. Hadn’t she? It didn’t matter. It was worth saying twice.

She stamped out of the bedroom and towards the kitchen. ‘Where the hell is the coffee? Jesus! Am I the damn president or not? This is fucking embarrassing.’

‘Who are you screaming at?’ Kent asked waspishly.

‘At anyone fucking out there,’ she retorted. ‘Where’s everyone else?’

He shrugged. ‘They’ve returned to the other cabins to change for dinner. Given Gary’s absence I will be remaining until Dan relieves me.’

Selina rolled her eyes. ‘I better not hear one more fucking word about his shoulder after he comes back to work.’

‘It’s a significant operation,’ Kent said. ‘He will require physical therapy for –’

‘I _literally_ just said I don’t want to hear about it,’ she snarled. ‘I have enough of my own fucking problems.’

He put his hands on his hips and stared at her as if she were a frog being dissected.

‘What?’ she demanded. ‘Are you gonna say something or just fucking stare at me?’

He narrowed his eyes and then walked past her to make coffee. Selina slumped down in a chair at the table. It would be Kent. Ben wouldn’t do it. Not that she’d want him doing it either. Ben’s idea of coffee was one parts espresso to nine parts whiskey. Selina enjoyed a drink as much as the next person, provided the next person wasn’t a seasoned West Wing alcoholic like Ben, but she couldn’t get away with being drunk half the day. Time was that all that shit would be kept private at least until you fucking died. These days it’d be splashed all over the news the day after. If _that’d_ happened when Nixon was drunkenly trying to nuke North Korea than it would’ve made the Cuban Missile Crisis look like a slap fight.

Kent smacked the cup of coffee down on the table in front of her. He walked off without saying anything.

‘You’re shit at being Gary,’ she called after him.

‘The man is evidently a saint,’ he said, sitting down in the living room.

Selina scowled and took a sip of her coffee. She was sick of this.

He should have apologised days ago. What the fuck was the point of sleeping with someone who worked for you if they didn’t automatically take responsibility when you had a row? Especially if “row” was kind of an understatement for something that had included actual screaming, ornament throwing, and the kind of accusations and revelations that you really couldn’t take back. No matter how much you might want to.

She _wanted_ him to apologise. She wanted to move the hell on already. She was sick of waiting. She was sick of wanting everything to go back to normal. Everything had been good before, pretty much. Not perfect, sure. Nothing was perfect. But it had been good. There wasn’t enough in her life that was good.

She sipped her coffee. He’d put in just the right amount of sweetener. She should’ve asked for a cookie. Gary would never let her have cookies, well not without being all judgmental about it. Kent never said word fucking one about anything she ate. Sometimes that annoyed her. She had to work _so hard_ to keep skinny and she got every impression that he wouldn’t have given a shit if she’d put on weight.

Selina turned around as she heard him stand up abruptly and then walk over to the windows. He sighed deeply and shook his head.

‘What? What’s going on?’

‘Snow,’ he said.

She shrugged and walked over. ‘That was the forecast, right?’

‘Not to this degree,’ he said.

Selina stared out of the window. She was expecting light flakes. Instead thick flurries filled the air. The ground was now barely visible beneath the growing drifts that were accumulating.

‘Where the fuck is the horizon?’ she asked. ‘Everything is white! It looks like we’re trapped inside a ping-pong ball.’

‘I’ll call Ben,’ Kent said.

‘What’s he gonna do, strap on his flamethrower?’

Kent ignored and made the call. That was just typical. Selina went to the door and looked through the glass. Snow was just visible, piling up against the door. Even as she watched she could see the level rising.

‘Where are the Secret Service?’ she demanded.

‘In Laurel with the other staffers,’ Kent said, putting his phone away. ‘As you may recall, you thought that you saw a bear and insisted that they investigate. Laurel was the nearest lodge to their position when the snow became impassable.’

‘I didn’t mean it! I just wanted them to give me some fucking space!’

Kent shrugged. ‘Congratulations, Ma’am.’

She rolled her eyes. ‘I suppose you think that you’re hilarious.’

He actually gave it some thought. ‘Darkly ironic perhaps.’

Selina pressed the heels of her hands to her eyes. ‘What did Ben say? Skipping all the wailing about the world ending that he salts his conversation with at even the best of times.’

Kent blew out his cheeks. ‘Sue is cancelling your schedule for this evening. Ben is attempting to arrange for a snow plough. The snowstorm is projected to continue until morning with more snow over the next few days.’

Selina set her jaw. ‘We’re stuck in here, is that what you’re saying?’

He rubbed his forehead. ‘For the moment, yes. I am sure that everyone is doing their best to resolve the situation as expeditiously as possible.’

‘Great,’ she said. ‘The bozo brigade versus mother-fucking-nature. We’re gonna starve to death.’

Kent sighed. ‘I’ll check the food situation.’

‘Christ, I hope there’s some booze,’ Selina muttered, walking back to the living room.

‘At least you have clean clothes,’ Kent said dryly.

She waved her arms as she walked away. ‘So, you’ll be naked. It’s not like I haven’t seen it all before.’

***

‘You wanna fuck?’

‘Are you drunk?’

Selina looked at her glass. ‘Not yet. I’ve only had one.’

Kent leaned back in his chair. ‘And you think that’s a good idea under the circumstances, do you?’

She shrugged. ‘Beats being a preachy, boring asshole.’

He narrowed his eyes. ‘If you believe that I’m even half the things that you accuse me of, then why would you ever consider having sex with me?’

Selina dropped down onto the couch. ‘I don’t have a lot of options to choose from.’

‘If you were stuck in here with Gary would you proposition him?’

She choked on her drink. ‘Jesus! Why would you say something like that to me?’

‘I’m merely seeking information,’ he said coldly.

‘Well, I can tell you right now that I’ve never fucked Gary!’ she retorted. ‘Have you fucked Jonah? Because it’s about that likely.’

Kent pulled a face. ‘That seems rather cruel to Gary.’

She kicked off her shoes and drew her feet up onto the couch. ‘It was Jonah or Dan and neither of them is very flattering.’

Kent looked at his cell. Selina blew out her cheeks.

‘We could be stuck here for hours,’ she said. ‘Overnight maybe.’ She groaned when she saw his expression. ‘Seriously? We’re definitely going to be stuck here overnight?’

‘Yes,’ he said flatly. ‘At the very least. Tomorrow afternoon is the currently likely projection.’

She rubbed her forehead. ‘Fuck.’

He looked back at his cell.

‘Are you gonna ignore me the whole damn time?’

‘How am I ignoring you?’ he asked. ‘How have I had the option to ignore you? We are literally talking at this moment.’

Selina threw a pillow at him. ‘You’ve been giving me the cold shoulder.’

‘I model my communication warmth on yours, Ma’am.’ He tucked the pillow behind himself.

‘Gimmie that back.’

‘No.’

She whined. ‘It’s gonna hurt my back!’

Kent cocked his head. ‘How entirely typical. You make a rash decision without a single thought as to the consequences and then you complain when those consequences come crashing down on you.’

She scowled at him. ‘Are you gonna give me the pillow or what?’

He sighed before throwing the pillow back to her. ‘May I continue?’

‘Dunno. What’re you doing?’

‘I am attempting to work,’ he said sourly. ‘It is not helped by my laptop and the majority of my colleagues being in Laurel Lodge.’

‘Which one of those is more of a problem?’ Selina asked wryly.

He didn’t laugh, although she didn’t really expect him to. He did look at her though. ‘Why are you suddenly attempting to engage me in conversation when you have been nothing but hostile since our disagreement?’

Selina played with her glass. ‘I’m bored, and I don’t want you to go all Donner Party on me.’

He raised his eyebrows. ‘I don’t think we’re _quite_ at that point yet.’

‘Wow. So much comfort right there.’

Kent squeezed the bridge of his nose. ‘You picked a fight with me. You refused to draw a line under things. You persisted in a childish refusal to talk outside of work. Yet I am supposed to comfort you?’

‘Duh, we’re still dating even if we’re mad at each other,’ she said. ‘Aren’t we?’

He put his cell in his pocket. ‘I don’t know. Are we?’

She licked her lips. ‘People have arguments, Kent.’

‘And those arguments are supposed to end in some form of resolution, Selina,’ he said. ‘You refuse to consider any resolution that requires you to admit any portion of responsibility whatsoever.’

She wrapped her arms around her legs. ‘Do you really think this is the right time for this conversation? We could fucking _die_ in here!’

Kent got up and came over to the couch. He sat next to her, turning automatically to face her. ‘We’re not going to die in here.’

‘How do you know?’ she asked quietly, swivelling around to him.

He brushed her hair behind her ear. ‘We have enough food for several days. We have water and we have heat. While it is true that snowfall is blocking the doors, should the worst come to the worst we could leave via that window. We have warm clothing. It would not be easy to walk to the vehicles, but it could be done. There are shovels and snow chains in the cars. We could take it in turns to clear a path for the cars down to the main road. It would be difficult, but it would be achievable.’

‘Oh,’ she said. ‘You’ve been properly thinking about this shit.’

‘Of course. It’s my job.’

She leaned against the couch. ‘I think you just like the idea of making me shovel snow.’

‘It would certainly be worth seeing.’

‘You’d let me, would you?’ she asked. ‘You’d let a woman go do all that hard work?’

He laughed now. ‘What does your sex have to do with anything?’

She poked his chest. ‘Spoken like an old white guy. My sex has something to do with every day of my fucking career. It’s never neutral. It’s always a damn issue.’

He smiled sweetly. ‘Then you should be happy to shovel snow,’ he said. ‘As that is a truly egalitarian approach rather than you _not_ doing it because of your sex. That would sexist and suggesting that would be patronising of me.’

‘It’s not sexist if it works in my favour!’ she protested.

‘Yes, it is! You cannot pick and choose when being a woman stops you from doing something is sexist,’ he retorted.

She narrowed her eyes. ‘How about me not being put into a man’s prison. Is _that_ sexist?’

Kent frowned. ‘That is a specious argument. The two situations are in no way comparable.’

‘So, holding a door open for someone is sexist now?’ Selina demanded.

‘Holding a door open for _someone_ is good manners,’ he said. ‘Holding a door open purely for women because of some archaic idea that women are weak and helpless is extremely sexist.’

She pulled a face. ‘I want people opening doors for me because I’m special, not because I’m weak and helpless.’

‘Being a woman doesn’t make you special,’ Kent said.

Selina opened and closed her mouth. ‘Wow.’

‘The sex ration in humans is close to 1:1,’ Kent said. ‘Allowing for some variation year to year due to varied factors both environmental and cultural. You are special due to your political position, not your sex.’

She rolled her eyes. ‘You admit I am special then.’

‘You’re the President of the United States,’ he said. ‘For better or worse. That places you in a small group although it doesn’t make you unique.’

‘For better or worse?’ she repeated.

He stood up and walked towards the kitchen.

‘Where are you going?’ she demanded.

‘To prepare for dinner,’ he said. ‘One of us should. Given your general belief that most mundane activities are beneath you, I doubt it will be you.’

She blew out her cheeks. ‘Great, you’re still in a snit.’ She pushed herself to her feet and followed him. ‘I’m not going to apologise because you can’t deal with a woman who is powerful and not afraid of her power.’

He shook his head as he opened the refrigerator. ‘I’m not going to apologise because you insist on eliding power and entitlement.’

‘Being powerful entitles me!’ she retorts.

‘I disagree.’ He slammed the door shut. ‘You cannot opt out of acceptable behaviour, Selina. There is no level at which you are too important to treat me with respect and dignity.’

She looked away as she put her hands on her hips. ‘You don’t know what it’s like to be me.’

‘And you don’t know what it’s like to be me,’ he said. ‘What is your point?’

Selina threw up her arms. ‘I’m not like other women that you’ve dated. That’s my point. You shouldn’t expect me to… Be like other women.’

Kent pursed his lips. ‘This argument is, once again, going in circles.’ He turned back and moved to the vegetable rack.

She watched him in silence for a few seconds. ‘Is that it?’

‘What do you mean?’ he asked, sounding distracted as he pulled out dishes and the like.

Selina folded her arms as she leaned against the counter. ‘It was just a stupid argument! Are we really going to stop seeing each other just because –’

He turned around. ‘Just because _what_ , Selina? You go through life treating everyone around you with disdain and looking for excuses to justify it. You treat _me_ with derision and contempt both professionally, which I can accept, and personally which I cannot and will not.’

She licked her lips. ‘I don’t… I… I have a shitty temper,’ she admitted. ‘I take it out on people around me. Maybe being President doesn’t mean it’s okay for me to be an asshole, but it does mean I’m under a shitload of pressure.’

Kent put his hand on the countertop. ‘I understand that,’ he said. ‘If it was the case that on occasion you snapped at me and then apologised, then I don’t believe we would be having this conversation. But it seems that taking your stress out on me is your first resort not your last.’

She nodded. ‘Yeah I guess that’s true.’

‘I’ve been in relationships before where my self-esteem was gradually eroded,’ he said quietly. ‘I won’t put myself through that again.’

She winced. ‘I’m sorry.’

‘Okay.’

Selina looked at him in confusion. ‘Okay?’

He shrugged. ‘I could list precisely what I need for our relationship to continue but I shouldn’t have to do that. Either you will change how you treat me, or you won’t.’

Selina squared her shoulders. ‘Oh.’ She took a breath and walked forward. ‘So, are we made up?’

‘I hope so,’ he said quietly.

She went up on her tiptoes to kiss him. ‘I hate it when you’re mad at me.’

‘Because I won’t have sex with you when I’m angry?’ he asked archly.

She nodded. ‘Yeah, what’s with that bullshit? Jesus. Angry sex is the _best_.’

He chuckled. ‘That’s not my experience.’

Selina closed the fridge door. ‘Come on. Pull all that shit away.’

‘You don’t want to eat dinner?’ Kent asked.

She rolled her eyes. ‘Not as much as I want you to pound my brains out.’

‘Ah,’ he said, nodding. ‘Priorities.’

‘Exactly.’

The End


End file.
